Child&#39;s folding seat



E. B. THOMPSON CHILD S FCLDING SEAT Sept. 21, 1948.

2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed' April 5, 1946 Sept. 21, 1948. E. B. THOMPSONGI-IILDS FOLDING SEAT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 jafzara/ 772' Jazz, /4 7 PatentedSept. 21, 1948 entree STATES PATENT OFFICE My invention relates to afolding seat, and. more particularly to a childs foldin toilet seat.

One feature of my invention is that it provides an improved childsfolding toilet seat; another feature of my invention is that it providesa childs toilet seat comprising a peripheral frame and a seat memberwhich fold into a lightweight, compact unit which can be easilycarriedfrom place to place, and which can be carried in a small bag orcase; a further feature of my invention is that it requires no fasteningmeans such as hooks or latches to retain it in unfolded position; stilla further feature of my invention is that its construction is such thatit cannot collapse when in use; yet another feature of my invention isthat it includes a seat member of flexible sheet material which can bereadily removed from the frame for cleaning; and still another featureof my invention is that it provides depending elements to hold it inposition on a conventional toilet seat.

My invention comprises a childs folding toilet seat which includesseveral advantages over any such seats heretofore known. First, it isdesirable that such a seat be light in Weight and be capable of beingfolded into a compact unit which may be easily carried from place toplace and may be placed in a small case or bag if desired for use whenthe child is taken away from its home. Second, such a seat should beeasy to fold or unfold, without the requirement of using hooks orlatches. Also, such a seat should be of such a construction that itcannot collapse when in use, and it should have means to lock or hold iton the conventional toilet seat so that the child will not be injuredwhile using the folding seat. Finally, it is desirable that such afolding seat be easily cleaned.

I have devised and am here disclosing a childs folding toilet seat whichincludes all these desirable features. It is light in weight, comprisingonly a peripheral frame which defines the external dimensions of theseat in a horizontal plane when the seat is normally positioned, and aseat member of flexible sheet material, as canvas for example. It isvery compact, for the frame folds upon itself and the seat member wrapsaround the folded frame making a unit of small dimensions. Further, itis so constructed that it cannot collapse when a child is sitting uponit, and the construction includes depending elements to hold the foldingseat in position upon a conventional toilet seat. Also, my improvedfolding seat includes provisions for readily removin the seat member soit may be more readily cleaned. Other features and advantages of myinvention 2 Claims. (01. 4-439) will be apparent from the followingspecification and the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved childs toilet seat in an unfoldedposition; Figure 2 is a front elevation of the seat shown in Figure 1,showing the means for removably fastening the seat member to the frontframe member; Figure 3 is a sectional view of the seat taken on the line3-3 of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the seat with theperipheral frame folded, but the seat member unfolded; and Figure 5 is aside elevation of the seat shown in Figure 4, with both the frame andthe seat member folded.

Referring now to the drawings a folding frame which defines theperiphery or edges of the fold-- ing seat includes a rigid front memberIll, a rigid back member H and a pair of folding side members l2a-l2band I3al3b. Each side member is made of two separate pieces, as 12a and[2b, which are joined in the center by the hinges M and I5,respectively. Such hinges are mounted on the outer side of each sidemember so that each side member can fold inwardly but cannot foldoutwardly. Each side member is pivotally connected at its ends to oneend of the front and back frame members, respectively, by the hinges l6and screws IT. The frame above described may be constructed of wood,metal, or other material, and when unfolded forms an approximate squareof a size of the same order as a conventional toilet seat.

Removably attached to the front and back frame members by means of theconventional snaps I8, is a seat member I 9 which is constructed offlexible sheet material, as for example canvas, and has an opening 20therethrough as shown in Figure 1. In the particular embodiment of myinvention shown in the drawings the seat member I9 is attached to thefront frame member by means of four snaps and is attached to the backframe member by means of three snaps, one on each end and one in thecenter. I have found such an arrangement to be desirable andadvantageous, but other fastening means may be employed.

Mounted on the underside of the front frame member is a dependingelement 2!, and mounted on the underside of the back frame member is adepending element '22. be formed of wood, metal or other material andperform the function of keeping the folding seat in its proper positionon a conventional toilet seat.

In Figure 1 my improved folding seat is shown in an unfolded positionpreparatory to use. It

Elements 2| and 22 may will be readily seen that when a child is placedupon the seat the side members are prevented from collapsing inwardly bythe body of the child, and are prevented fromcollapsingoutwardly by theconstruction of the device, for with the hinges l4 and if: placed on theoutside edge of said side members the center ends of each section ofeach side member meet in such manner that the member cannot foldoutwardly.

If it is desired .to carrythe folding. seat from one place to another itmay be folded without operating any hooks or latches, but merely bypushing the center of. each side member of the frame inward and by suchmeans the frame willcollapse upon itself as shown in Figure l. The seatmember If? may be then wrappedtarounclf the frame as shown in Figure 5,making. a very compact unit which may be placed in a small bag or case.When the folding seat is again ready for use it may be set up in .a veryfew seconds by merely unwrapping the seat member is. and pu ing thefront and back frame members away from each other. If it is desiredtocleanthe seat member Hi it may be readily removed. from the frame byineansof the conventional snaps l8.

While I have. shown and described only one. embodiment of my invention,it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications.Changes, ther-efore in the construction. and arrangement may be. madewithout departing from the spirit and scopev of. theinvention. asdisclosed in the appendedcl'aims- I claim:

peripheral frame of a size of the. same. order as a conventional toiletseat, and comprising rigid 4 front and back members and a pair of sidemembers permanently pivotally connected to the front and. back members,each side member being hinged in the center in such manner as to becollapsible inwardly only; and a seat member of flexible sheet materialhaving an opening therethrough and adapted to be fastened to the frontand back members of the frame.

2. A childs collapsible seat of the character described; including: anon-separable collapsible peripheral frame of a size of the same orderas a conventional toilet seat, and comprising rigid front and backmembers and a pair of side memberspermanently pivotally connected to thefront and back members at the respective ends thereof, each side memberbeing hinged in the center in such manner as to be collapsible inwardlyonly; and a seat member of flexible sheet material having an openingtherethro-ugh, said seatmemher being fastened only to said front nadback members and the weight of a childs body on saidscat memberpreventing said side members from collapsing inwardly.

EDWARD B. rnoireson.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record inthe file ofthis patent:

Nye ne lzs, 192a?

